REFUGEES PROTEST AGAINST REINTEGRATION PLAN AFTER SOMALI IS KILLED IN GRABOUW

Cape Times, 29
July 2008

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About 80 displaced foreigners protested at the main gate of the Soetwater safety camp yesterday against reintegration, continuing violence and the government's denial of the problem. This followed the murder of Noor Ali, a Somali shop owner, in Grabouw on Monday night. "He was one of the refugees living in Soetwater," camp leader Sadiq Hussein said. They were protesting against reintegration because if they returned to the townships Somalis became "targets", he said. "Reintegration is not possible. Like Ali, if we go back we will be murdered." Police spokesperson Elliot Sinyangana said police were dispatched to a shop in the Side View area of Grabouw shortly after 7pm on Monday. There they were told that three men had entered the shop. The man in front pointed a gun at Ali. A struggle resulted during which a second man fired a shot at Ali before they fled. Ali was later declared dead by the ambulance services. Hussein said they would prefer to return home to Somalia "if it's possible". Another camp leader, Asad Abdullahi, said: "People are dying, but the government is ignoring it."